It Takes Guts To Say "Jesus"

According to O.C. Gilligan, this was a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC.

There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God could not exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years he had taught this class and no one ever had the courage to challenge him. Sure, some people argued in class at times, but no one ever challenged him. Nobody challenged him because he had a reputation that on the last day of class of every semester, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" In twenty years, nobody ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would then say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God existed, he would stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove he is God, and yet he can't do it." And every year he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students were convinced that God did not exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through this class, but for 20 years all were too afraid to stand up.

Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll in the class. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about this professor. He had to take the class because it was one of the required classes for his major. He was afraid, but for three months during that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought. Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he hoped. Finally, the day came when the professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor, and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the room. The professor shouted, "YOU FOOL! If nothing I have said all semester has convinced you that God doesn't exist, then you are a fool! If God existed, he could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!" He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. And as it hit the ground, it simply rolled away, unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room to share his faith in Jesus for the next half hour to 300 students who stayed to listen as he told of God's love for them and of his power through Jesus.

Yet to all who received HIM, to those who believed in HIS name, HE gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of GOD.